Shloka 45
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
ब्राह्मण उवाच युद्ध मम सदा वाणी याचतीति विकत्थसे । न च युद्ध मया सार्थ किमर्थ याचसे पुन:
brāhmaṇa uvāca | yuddhaṁ mama sadā vāṇī yācatīti vikatthase | na ca yuddhaṁ mayā sārthaṁ kimarthaṁ yācase punaḥ ||
برہمن نے کہا—اے راجن! تم شیخی بگھارتے ہو کہ ‘میری زبان ہمیشہ جنگ ہی مانگتی ہے۔’ پھر میرے ساتھ جنگ کیوں نہیں مانگتے؟ آخر تم دوبارہ یہ دوسری یَچنا کس لیے کر رہے ہو؟
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques empty boasting and demands consistency between one’s claims and one’s actions. Ethically, it highlights accountability in speech: declaring someone as warlike or provocative is meaningless unless one is prepared to face the implications of that claim.
A Brahmin addresses a king who has been boasting that the Brahmin’s speech always seeks battle. The Brahmin challenges the king’s inconsistency: if the king truly believes this, why does he not seek combat with the Brahmin himself, and why does he keep making such demands while avoiding that direct test?